The present invention relates to container filling apparatus and method, and in particular to container filling apparatus for bulk packing of parts.
Traditional conveyor techniques have been used in the past in the bulk loading of parts into containers. Conventionally a conveyor system is used to transport parts from a part supply to a fill station, at which station the parts are discharged and dropped into the container. Once the container is filled, the conveyor unit is shut off and the filled container replaced. The operator may visually determine that the container is filled, or the filled container can be detected by automated means such as a container weight sensor, a lever operated switch located on the conveyor or the like. Although such a conveyor, filling apparatus is adequate in some applications, this type of system does have the problem of part damage resulting from the dropping of parts from the conveyor to the container. Even relatively sturdy parts, such as machined parts and the like, can be damaged by the drop into the container. Although the height of the drop is reduced as parts accumulate within the container, the drop can be substantial.
In an effort to reduce the damage that results from such an automated filling mechanism, some filling apparatus pivot both the conveyor discharge and container to reduce the drop from the conveyor. Initially the container is pivoted into a raised position and the conveyor discharge end is pivoted downwardly. The container is subsequently lowered through the filling cycle while the conveyor discharge end is simultaneously raised. Although this simultaneous pivoting of the container and the conveyor discharge reduces damage to the parts being packed, damage to the parts still occurs since the simultaneous pivoting still results in a substantial drop from the discharge at various points in the filling cycle.